Place the carrots in a small saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until carrots are just fork-tender. Drain. (Or you could steam the carrots instead.)

Make the cheese sauce: In a food processor or blender, combine the soaked cashews, cooked carrots, nutrional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, chili powder, onion powder, cayenne (if using), and 2/3 cup water. Blend until smooth and silky, adding a splash of extra water if needed. Pour sauce into a large bowl.

Make the dip: Stir the marinara sauce, onion, and spinach into the cheese sauce until fully combined. Spoon the dip into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkly with crushed corn chips.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, uncovered, watching closely toward the end of the cooking time to make sure the corn chip topping doesn't burn. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired. Serve immediately with chips or crackers.

Leftovers may be reheated in 400F oven for 10 to 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

06/29/2013

Fruit isn't on my "safe" list of foods while I'm on this 6-month fructose elimination diet, but I tried this recipe and it was delicious. My body seems to tolerate ripe bananas in moderation, so I plan to use this as my go-to recipe for special occasion brunches. I like these pancakes smeared with homemade sunbutter or almond butter.

NOTE: Ground flax seed is used as a binder and can take the place of eggs in many recipes. While I am able to tolerate eggs just fine, I tend to eat a lot of them! So I tried the flax in this recipe and didn't miss the eggs. The back of the flax seed package says one Tbsp flax + 3 Tbsp water = 1 egg. I'm guessing that if you substituted two eggs for the flax in this recipe, you would also have to decrease the quantity of almond milk accordingly (so you'd only add 1 1/8 c almond milk). But I haven't tested this theory yet. Comments are welcomed!

05/27/2013

I'm exploring a gluten free flour called teff flour and came across this recipe for a dessert pie crust. I'm thinking this will be a good option for me try since it uses maple syrup as the sweetener. Teff originates in Africa. It cooks similar to quinoa and millet, but in a shorter amount of time. It is also ground into flour and used to make flatbread in Ethiopia. This recipe looks amazingly simple in that the ingredients are simply mixed and pressed into a pie plate - no sifting, rolling, or refrigerating required!

Make cream sauce: In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over nuts and let sit until they soften, about 30 minutes. Stir in nutritional yeast. Puree mixture in a blender on highest setting until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Season
with salt to taste. Set aside.

Assemble gratin: Lightly oil bottom of an 8-inch-round or oval. Add a single layer of rutabaga slices, overlapping edges and working in a circle. Season with salt, pepper, and
some of the chopped herbs. Add another layer and season with salt, pepper, and herbs. Pour in about 1/3 of pecan/walnut cream -- enough to cover both layers. Continue until baking dish is full. Pour in remaining
pecan/walnut cream. Sprinkle nutmeg over top layer.

Make breadcrumbs: Pulse bread in a food processor until coarsely ground (you should have 1 cup). Place in a small bowl; toss with olive oil and 1/2 Tbsp chopped marjoram and thyme.

Top gratin with breadcrumbs.
Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until rutabagas are tender when pierced with a sharp knife and breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.